# Top 8 OSS CSPM Tools _._ As businesses increasingly rely on cloud environments to store, manage, and secure their data, maintaining a robust cloud security posture becomes critical. Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) tools play a pivotal role in this by providing continuous monitoring, vulnerability detection, and compliance enforcement across cloud infrastructures. Open-source CSPM (OSS CSPM) tools, in particular, offer a cost-effective and flexible way for organizations to strengthen their cloud defenses without committing to a commercial license. In this article, we’ll explore the 8 OSS CSPM tools available today, each with its unique capabilities and benefits for helping organizations identify cloud misconfigurations, prevent security breaches, and ensure compliance with industry standards. Whether you’re looking for tools that specialize in [configuration management](https://www.wiz.io/academy/cloud-configuration-management), compliance auditing, or vulnerability detection, this list will provide valuable insights into which tools might be best suited to your organization’s needs. ## Cloud security posture management: A refresher [CSPM](https://www.wiz.io/academy/what-is-cloud-security-posture-management-cspm) is the practice of managing and protecting cloud environments through end-to-end cloud visibility, vulnerability detection, and risk management. A term coined by Gartner, CSPM involves using tools that automate the continuous monitoring and resolution of cloud security vulnerabilities in IaaS, SaaS, and PaaS environments.  CSPM tools identify misconfigurations, broken authorizations, weak access controls, insecure APIs, and more to minimize the risk of data breaches. They also enforce regulatory standards and in-house security policies to prevent non-compliance fines and ensure operational best practices. Their contextual insights streamline DevSecOps processes and enhance [incident response](https://www.wiz.io/academy/incident-response-fast-track-guide). ## Key CSPM capabilities to look for Although many OSS CSPM software options offer the benefits listed above (and more), other CSPM solutions are limited in scope. For example, some tools enable **automatic remediation** of security risks, while some simply detect issues, leaving the rest of the work to your teams. Be on the lookout for the following capabilities: - **Comprehensive cloud resource inventorying:** Look for tools that clearly show where compute and storage resources are located in your cloud environments. - **Accurate risk detection:** Consider whether the tool can benchmark your cloud, host, and application configurations against industry best practices to identify misconfigurations and vulnerabilities that could be exploitable. - **Contextual reporting and risk prioritization:** Consider the CSPM product’s ability to understand your business contexts and use these insights to prioritize the risks you’re most vulnerable to. - **Multi-cloud monitoring:** Choose a solution that integrates monitoring across various cloud providers such as AWS, Azure, and GCP into one unified dashboard for seamless risk traceability. - [**Compliance management and policy enforcement**](https://www.wiz.io/academy/compliance/compliance-management-in-the-cloud)**:** Consider a tool that can remediate compliance violations on the fly and help you enforce your organization’s policies and standards. For example, select a solution that will alert your teams in real time when new configurations stray from in-house security policies.  --- ## See Wiz Cloud in Action In your 10 minute interactive guided tour, you will: - Get instant access to the Wiz platform walkthrough - Experience how Wiz prioritizes critical risks - See the remediation steps involved with specific examples ## Top 8 OSS CSPM tools - [CIS-CAT Lite](https://www.wiz.io/academy/oss-cspm-tools#1-cis-cat-lite-13) - [Cloudsploit](https://www.wiz.io/academy/oss-cspm-tools#2-cloudsploit-23) - [Gapps](https://www.wiz.io/academy/oss-cspm-tools#3-gapps-32) - [Lynis](https://www.wiz.io/academy/oss-cspm-tools#4-lynis-42) - [Magpie](https://www.wiz.io/academy/oss-cspm-tools#5-magpie-51) - [OpenSCAP](https://www.wiz.io/academy/oss-cspm-tools#6-openscap-62) - [Scout Suite](https://www.wiz.io/academy/oss-cspm-tools#8-scout-suite-80) - [S3Scanner](https://www.wiz.io/academy/oss-cspm-tools#9-s3scanner-89) ### 1. CIS-CAT Lite [CIS-CAT Lite](https://learn.cisecurity.org/cis-cat-lite) is the free version of the Center for Internet Security’s cloud security and compliance assessment tool. Tailored specifically for implementing CIS Benchmarks, CIS-CAT Lite enforces secure configurations across various clouds, including AWS, Azure, and GCP. #### Capabilities - Cloud security configuration and CIS compliance auditing  - Remediation guidance - Centralized scans  - GUI and CLI deployment options  #### Pros - Deploys fast - Gives compliance scores for easier compliance posture auditing #### Considerations - Covers CIS Benchmarks only - Offers limited features compared to more advanced CSPMs --- ### 2. Cloudsploit [Self-hosted CloudSploit](https://github.com/aquasecurity/cloudsploit) is the open-source version of Aqua’s CSPM solution. It offers a range of features for managing cloud security and compliance. First, CloudSploit’s config file lets you send credentials and data from your cloud infrastructure for scanning. The results are then sent to a console in a tabular format, giving you an at-a-glance view of cloud risks.  #### Capabilities - Cloud misconfiguration management in Microsoft Azure, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), AWS, GCP, and GitHub - Compliance management for HIPAA, CIS, and PCI DSS standards - Collects cloud infrastructure data as JSON files, environment variables, or hard-coded data #### Pros - Can define custom policies  - Can detect a wide range of risks and vulnerabilities - Smaller performance impact because it scans in the background #### Considerations - Offers native support for AWS but requires add-ons to monitor other clouds - Tabular reports are not comprehensive, which can make remediation cumbersome - Enables hard-coding cloud data for processing, which can pose data security risks --- ### 3. Gapps [Gapps](https://www.wiz.io/academy/gapps-overview) is a cloud security posture and compliance management platform that integrates with various cloud infrastructure.  #### Capabilities - Supports 10+ compliance frameworks, including SOC2, NIST, and SSF  - Out-of-the-box support for 1,500+ controls and 25+ policies - Support for custom policy creation and enforcement #### Pros - Fast deployment with Docker - GUI for easy navigation #### Considerations - Doesn’t offer mitigation guidance --- ### 4. Lynis [Lynis ](https://www.wiz.io/academy/lynis-overview)is designed for Linux, FreeBSD, MAC, Unix, and other Unix-based systems that run on hosts. Lynis performs compliance and security posture scans.  #### Capabilities - Compliance assessment for HIPAA, PCI DSS, and ISO 27001 - Provides recommendations for system hardening - Vulnerability/misconfiguration detection - Intrusion detection #### Pros - Multi-language support - Custom security controls #### Considerations - No web interface - Limited compliance coverage  --- ### 5. Magpie [Magpie](https://www.openraven.com/open-source-tools/open-source-cspm) is composed of layered FIFO queues that allow it to output query results in order while running as a single process or as a set of processes across multiple machines. It has a plugin architecture that integrates with AWS and GCP clouds, enabling security architects to unify CSPM scans from both clouds.  [Magpie](https://www.wiz.io/academy/magpie-overview) works in four stages:  - **Enumerate**, where it discovers your cloud infrastructure  - **Query**, where it analyzes the infrastructure for security risks - **Transform**, where it converts the query data for downstream processing - **Output**, where it outputs the data as JSON files or sends it to Kafka or PostgreSQL #### Capabilities - Asset and service discovery, including shadow and abandoned clouds, non-native apps, and data stores with DMAP - Misconfiguration and regulatory compliance management, including AWS CIS Security Benchmarks - Security best practice enforcement via a security policy and rules engine  #### Pros - Storage of historical security and compliance assessments to enable trend analysis and compliance auditing - Built-in ransomware rules to prevent ransomware and supply chain attacks - Data preview feature for analyzing sensitive data without exposing systems to data-focused attacks #### Considerations - Does not support IBM, Oracle, or Microsoft Azure - Cannot scan Kubernetes and serverless resources --- ### 6. OpenSCAP [OpenSCAP](https://www.wiz.io/academy/openscap-overview) is a toolkit with a range of cloud security, policy, and compliance management tools. It includes OpenSCAP Base, Workbench, Daemon, and more, which help secure clouds, containers, and container images. #### Capabilities  - Configuration and vulnerability scanning via OpenSCAP Base, a NIST-certified CLI tool  - Tracking infrastructure compliance with various SCAP policies through OpenSCAP Daemon - Storage of historical SCAP scan results in SCAPtimony  - Compliance enforcement while building images via OSCAP Anaconda Addon #### Pros - Continuous compliance and vulnerability checks - Support for 25+ standards, including CIS Benchmarks #### Considerations - The multiple layers and add-ons can be difficult to navigate - Does not support compliance management for popular standards like GDPR --- --- ### 7. Scout Suite [Scout Suite](https://github.com/nccgroup/ScoutSuite) is a cloud security auditing tool for providing point-in-time security risk and configuration assessments. As a CLI tool, Scout Suite integrates easily with multiple cloud environments. #### Capabilities - Support for seven cloud environments, including Microsoft Azure, Oracle, and DigitalOcean Cloud - Automatic cloud risk discovery via scanning for exposed CSP APIs - Summarized risk and attack surface reports - Outputs reports in HTML format #### Pros - Enables fast and lightweight scanning  - Supports interacting with reports offline (once data collection and scanning is complete) #### Considerations - Does not perform in-depth security posture scans - Does not support compliance management; only identifies misconfigurations and security risks  - Summarized reports lack the depth and context needed to speed up remediation efforts --- ### 8. S3Scanner  [S3Scanner](https://pypi.org/project/S3Scanner/) checks S3 buckets in AWS, DigitalOcean, and a range of other CSPs for misconfigured permissions. It contains a host of tools for managing the security posture of S3 buckets. #### Capabilities - Multi-threaded scanning - Misconfiguration detection via S3-compatible APIs - Docker support via Whales  #### Pros - Stores historical data in the PostgreSQL database - Multi-language and multi-OS support #### Considerations - Automating scans is only possible through complex add-ons - Limited compliance scanning ## Wiz CSPM The cloud is vast and borderless, and with multiple components interacting with each other, misconfigurations are inevitable. That’s why cost-effective and highly extensible OSS CSPM tools are attractive solutions to help enterprises discover misconfigurations and keep their clouds standards-compliant. Still, there’s no singular OSS CSPM tool that offers all the essential capabilities we’ve discussed above.  Enter [Wiz](http://wiz.io). From context-aware scanning and risk prioritization to automatic remediation and multi-cloud support, [WIZ CSPM](https://www.wiz.io/solutions/cspm) is a unified platform that has everything you need. Request a [demo](https://www.wiz.io/demo) today to see how Wiz can solve all your cloud infrastructure security pain points. --- **Related Tools Roundup** - [OSS Vulnerability Scanners [By Category]](https://www.wiz.io/academy/oss-vulnerability-scanners) - [Open-source Container Security Tools [By Use Case]](https://www.wiz.io/academy/open-source-container-security-tools) - [OSS Software Composition Analysis (SCA) Tools](https://www.wiz.io/academy/oss-sca-tools) - [9 Open-Source SAST Tools](https://www.wiz.io/academy/top-open-source-sast-tools) - [OSS CNAPP Toolkit](https://www.wiz.io/academy/open-source-cnapp-tools) - [14 OSS Application Security Tools by Use Case](https://www.wiz.io/academy/top-oss-application-security-tools) - [9 OSS API Security Tools](https://www.wiz.io/academy/top-oss-api-security-tools) - [Open-Source SBOM tools](https://www.wiz.io/academy/top-open-source-sbom-tools) --- [View on wiz.io](https://www.wiz.io/academy/cloud-security/oss-cspm-tools)